


A Year

by 22Bean22



Category: Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Angst, Chocolate, Churches, Flowers, Goodbyes, Grief, Growing Up, M/M, Mello - Freeform, Post-Death Note, friends - Freeform, graveyards, near - Freeform, nearo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-06-09 12:07:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15267174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/22Bean22/pseuds/22Bean22
Summary: They made these graves for the lost, cried for them, said prayers, speeches. Some even talked to the stone themselves, as Near had just done. But, why? The deceased were just that, deceased. Gone. They wouldn't hear. It was a waste of time, of energy, of breath. So, why? Maybe because it was their personal way to cope, using this act as a desperate measure to quell their heartache. Near would never be sure.





	A Year

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a little fic I wrote of Near visiting Mello's gravestone a year after the Kira case was brought to an end.

“Hi, Mello.”

 

Near gripped the chocolate bar tightly in his hand, his grasp so firm he wondered whether the treat had been reduced to a melted mess. In his other hand were flowers, blue, that reminded him of Mello’s eyes. He always remembered Mello’s eyes. The reason why, he wasn’t sure.

 

“It’s been a year.”

 

A year since what? Since Kira was defeated? Since Near took over as the ‘best detective in the world?’ Since Mello took his last breath?

 

Near bent down, leaning his gifts up against the gravestone, careful not to block the engravings on the stone from view. Moss was beginning to grow between the cracks in the stone, green smudges cast upon the once-shiny surface. Mello’s memory being overcast by time, as this gravestone was overcast by nature.

 

Straightening up, Near turned to leave. He had business to attend to, he couldn’t spend his time griev- visiting Mello’s resting place. But, he couldn’t move his feet.

The monthly visits he carried out to this graveyard were getting shorter each time. From the first visit, where Near sat beside the stone for hours, thinking, to the one last month, where he simply dumped his offerings and got on with his day. But... It was different now. Maybe, as he said earlier, because it had been a year.

Human beings were peculiar creatures. Not so much their biology, ecosystem, evolution, as fascinating as it was. No... Their philosophy. That was what Near truly found unique about his species.

 

They made these graves for the lost, cried for them, said prayers, speeches. Some even talked to the stone themselves, as Near had just done. But why? The deceased were just that, deceased. Gone. They wouldn’t hear. It was a waste of time, of energy, of breath. So why? Maybe because it was their personal way to cope, using this act as a desperate measure to quell their heartache. Near would never be sure.

 

He could still recall the last time he saw Mello.  
—————————————  
“Which of us is going to reach Kira first, I wonder?”

 

“The race is on.”

 

“We’re both headed toward the same direction. I’ll be waiting for you.”  
—————————————  
Near knew that was just Mello being his usual cocky self, but the irony of that goodbye was just too much.

 

“Are you really waiting for me, Mello?” Near kept his back to the gravestone, instead opting to glare at the church in front of him.

 

All was quiet in the graveyard, and although Near’s overly-logical mind already knew there would be no reply, an unwelcome twinge was felt in his heart as the silence continued. Not even a bird, not even the wind, it was as if Mello was mocking him from beyond the grave.

 

Near had never realised it before, but Mello had always been the reason. The reason he kept going, the reason practice-cases were so entertaining, the reason Near didn’t give up on the career altogether. Now, without the rival, Near was an unchallenged robot, spurred on only by the empty desire to work, not to win.

 

Without the friend, Near was alone.

 

There was no point in spending time here anymore. Talking would not bring Mello back. Talking would not restore Near’s passion.

 

The white-haired detective turned back to the gravestone for one last look. The chocolate and flowers still propped up photogenically, the moss seeping between the cracks.  All that remained of his colleague, his rival, his friend.

“Goodbye, Mello.”


End file.
